Identidad Madidi
TOURISM

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Responsible tourism operators legally established in Madidi National Park

Chalalán Ecolodge

The CHALALÁN Ecolodge stands on the shore of the magnificent Chalalán Lagoon and combines elegance and comfort while using local materials to respect the traditional building styles of our community, San José de Uchupiamonas.

We, the Uchupiamonas, planned the design and layout of the different rooms of the Ecolodge down to the very last detail, making full advantage of our knowledge of what the jungle provides. The walls are made from the Copa Palm (Iriartea Deltoidea) and covered with matting, the roofs are woven with Asaí palm leaves (Geonoma Deversa) and the floors made of fine hardwood. This type of attention to detail and materials make the Chalalán Ecolodge one of the most luxurious places to stay in this part of the world.

We are a small indigenous community-owned eco-lodge offering a wide variety of eco–tourism packages that allow you to discover our environment and the Tacana culture while comfortably lodged in private cabins within close proximity of Rurrenabaque. Enjoy our two eco-lodges, one set alongside the Beni river next to the community of San Miguel that allows our guests to explore the Tacana culture, and the other set deep within Madidi National Park where visitors can experience the amazing biodiversity of the Bolivian Amazon.

We are Tacana Indians who have historically lived along the shores of the Beni and Tuichi rivers and within the boundaries of the famous Madidi National Park for hundreds of years. We have several different eco-tour programs from a one day package to a 5 day/4 night adventure.

All of our eco-lodge employees, from the cooks to the guides, are native to the Tacana community of San Miguel. Your eco-tour with us will directly benefit the community as all of the profits go towards improving health, education, and basic services in the village. You will have a chance to share in the culture and nature of this amazing place, but also see the good your money is doing within the community. We look forward to meeting you, if you have an inquiries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mashaquipe Eco Tours is a community founded tour operator CERTIFIED in Responsible Practices in Sustainable Tourism with the “GREN ACTION” seal, achievers of the EXCELLENCE IN SERVICES certificate granted by the world wide travelers forum TRIPADVISOR and many other awards achieved. Founded and managed by a society of Indigenous families from the community Villa Alcira, we offer different packages to the Rain Forest in Madidi National Park as well to the Yacuma Pampas sites of unforgettable beauty and exuberant wildlife. Our native guides, nature wise, with many years of experience interpreting nature will show you and teach you the prosperity of the pristine forest and pampas, providing you a complete experience of learning and enjoying nature, combining activities like hikes, navigation, observation of wildlife, river rafting and demonstration of the way of life among others.

The Indigenous families owners of this eco touristic enterprise have built ecological lodges with local materials, respecting the natural environment and its landscape, to welcome tourist that seek a close contact with the Rain Forest in Madidi National Park and in Yacuma Pamas.

Mashaquipe Eco Tours has the policy to organize programs with small groups to reduce the negative environmental impact in the trails and in the forest.

Sadiri Lodge’s main immediate objective, being the economic initiative of the Indigenous people of San José de Uchupiamonas, is to accomplish the mission of saving a lush area of forest whose natural wealth threatens its own existence. A pristine and diverse forest which despite being protected within Madidi National Park, attracts foreign economic capitals who aim at exploiting its precious woods such as mahogany (Swietenia macrophyllan), cedar (nc) and other species that find their home in an area of over 30,000 ha, singularly important for the diversity of wildlife it generates.

The Indigenous People of San José de Uchupiamonas have a large part in this venture, 75 members being direct beneficiaries, 40 of whom are women and 35 men who are men, making up the Tourist Association Sadiri Lodge, in a system of non-profit organization whose objective “to contribute to the protection, preservation and conservation of Mother Earth through responsible, sustainable tourism.

Conservation to be sustained through tourism activity specialized in bird watching, nature and living cultures existing in the Indigenous Community San José de Uchupiamonas, in the area called Zone 1 Tourist Refuge with the activity of providing tourist services in Sadiri Lodge to improve the living conditions of the families of the Indigenous Community San José de Uchupiamonas”.

The project took 98% of local workforce from the 76 partners who are currently staff members in the tourism operation, and who provided local materials and 25 days of work each.